Spectating the Angsty Romance of the Master and Disciple from the Sect Next Door Chapter 85

Having lived for thousands of years, this was the first time they had been slandered to their faces, with badmouthing happening right in front of them. Li Jin’an and Xie Huaixue were both momentarily unable to react.
These words pierced into their minds word by word, then rearranged and recombined, only then allowing them to confirm what they had truly heard.
From discussing the crimes of Qi Lingzi and the other two in the Sect Hall, to being watched by onlookers while being intimate at Bingyi Pavilion, dispatching the annoying elders and peers, and now arriving at Gusheng Peak… In less than a single day, rumors about Li Jin’an and Xie Huaixue were flying everywhere, then unexpectedly reached the two people involved.
And it was the final version, passed through countless hands and passionately elaborated by countless people.
They probably wouldn’t even be this focused and sincere when it came to their own cultivation.
Li Jin’an’s brow twitched. She raised a hand and pressed it, finding it hard to describe whether her current mood was one of absurdity, helplessness, or amusement.
She had always known that the world had a fanatical pursuit of her and Xie Huaixue’s relationship. They even set up gambling dens to predict the outcome of their fights, broadcasting in real-time how many times she lost to Xie Huaixue…
Not only that, they enthusiastically nicknamed Qi Lingzi “Second for a Hundred Years,” and Tan Yanyi and Ling Qiu “Second for Ten Years,” believing they had filialy inherited their master’s “great achievements” and the destiny of targeting Qingxiao Peak. Truly worthy disciples of the “Second for a Thousand Years”—a whole family of seconds!
Before today, she firmly believed they were either mentally ill or simply idle with nothing to do, with mediocre cultivation, only capable of studying unorthodox methods.
Regardless of whether these people were crazy or just idle, none dared to make irresponsible remarks in front of the people of Jijin Peak. Even discussing these matters had to be done discreetly, in private, because Li Jin’an had once vented her anger on them when she lost a fight, pounding their heads and embedding them into the ground…
But Li Jin’an truly hadn’t expected that after she and Xie Huaixue broke away from being mortal enemies, their creative passion would become even more fervent. In such a short time, a thousand years of her and Xie Huaixue’s rivalry had changed versions, becoming “love-turned-hatred”?!
They didn’t say that before!
So no matter what she and Xie Huaixue were like, they’d always be gossiped about?
Li Jin’an let out a soft “Hmph.”
Tan Yanyi, still holding that damned paper crane, trembled in response. Her pleading little eyes drifted towards Qi Lingzi and Ling Qiu, but unfortunately, her senior and junior sisters stood even more rigidly at attention, not even giving her a side glance.
This fragile bond of sisterhood! They could die together, but not live together!
When she was young and ignorant, Tan Yanyi had imagined becoming the first rebellious sword cultivator of Jijin Peak—to find a Dao Companion and break the iron rule that sword cultivators only took their soulbound sword as their wife. At that time, she would surely garner astonished gazes from her sect and fellow cultivators. Just thinking about it made her overjoyed.
Unfortunately, the reality was so cruel. Not only was she not the first, she wasn’t even the second. She could only be the last… No, she hadn’t even found a Dao Companion yet!
“Yiyi, who is this person saying you didn’t do so well?” Li Jin’an asked lightly.
The original words clearly asked how she managed, not stating that she didn’t do well!
Tan Yanyi dared not speak out despite her anger, smiling fawningly. “This humble one’s birth mother, actually. But in your disciple’s heart, Master, you have given me a second life and are the person your disciple respects the most!”
“How does that saying go? The kindness of nurturing is greater than the kindness of birth. You imparted knowledge, taught skills, resolved doubts, protected me thoroughly, taught me principles, and gave me a second home. You are truly the mother with great kindness and virtue to your disciple!”
“And Madame is your Dao Companion, so that makes her your disciple’s second mother to show filial piety to!”
She decided to break ties with her birth mother for a while first. Once the crisis was over, she would reconnect with her mother. She figured her mother would understand her decision.
Li Jin’an was silent for a moment, then decided to pass the buck. “Does the Jinggu Tan Family teach your clan disciples to recognize multiple mothers when they encounter danger?”
If that were truly the case, she dared not imagine how long Tan Yanyi’s family tree would become if this continued for a long time.
As the personal master of this unlucky second disciple, she absolutely refused to admit that this sorry state was something she had taught!
“Hehe.”
Tan Yanyi was unfazed and, far from feeling ashamed, actually felt proud. She secretly scoffed, You old one already said “when in danger,” so of course, you should cower as early as possible. Should I wait until after being beaten before cowering?
According to Tan Yanyi’s rich experience in causing trouble, in a crisis, one shouldn’t argue immediately, as it’s easy to add fuel to the fire. Instead, one should try to awaken the master’s nonexistent maternal love and quickly curry favor with the Madame, catering to her preferences, ideally gaining the Madame’s protection. That way, the master wouldn’t be able to punish her easily.
She was quite perceptive about who was truly in charge of this household.
Tan Yanyi was so impressed by her own intelligence that she felt she could totally publish a book on how to deal with the enraged Jijin Sword Sovereign, for the vast number of cultivators who shared her common struggles to save their own lives!
Li Jin’an curved her lips into a smile. In the terrified gaze of her second disciple, she said to Xie Huaixue, “What do you think, Madame?”
Xie Huaixue lowered her gaze and pondered for a few breaths. “They can stay here and guard Lan Ci and Ning Zhufeng.”
Li Jin’an sighed and said with emotion, “Your Madame is still too soft-hearted. Otherwise, given how you easily believe rumors and even brought them to our faces, it would be very difficult for your master to handle.”
Tan Yanyi, who was still wondering why the Madame used the word “guard,” heard this and immediately abandoned her few remaining brain cells. She let out a cheer, “We promise to complete the mission and not cause any trouble for Madame and Master!”
She understood. The two elders wanted their private space and didn’t want anyone to disturb them.
Don’t worry, she definitely wouldn’t let Master down and would make these two feel the hospitality of Jijin Peak!
Qi Lingzi and Ling Qiu, who had been dragged into it, bowed in unison and said, “Your disciples respectfully follow Madame and Master’s teachings.”
Tan Yanyi cunningly placed Madame before Master, and Qi Lingzi and Ling Qiu had no choice but to go along with the mistake and support her.
Li Jin’an couldn’t be bothered with their petty cleverness. She circled Lan Ci and Ning Zhufeng’s beds once, her gaze, full of pity, forcibly quieted them down and made them completely fall unconscious. With a touch of motherly affection, she said, “Poor children, they can’t even get a good night’s sleep.”
Elder Yin, whose presence was almost nonexistent, was speechless: …Do you people from Jijin Peak really not know why they can’t get a good night’s sleep?
Jijin’s disciples only cause minor troubles; Jijin herself is the source of all evil!
Oh, and Qingxiao practices favoritism.
Xie Huaixue, who practiced favoritism, smiled faintly, and transmitted something to Li Jin’an.
Li Jin’an was instantly distracted. Magnanimously pretending not to notice Elder Yin’s gaze, she listened attentively.
Having heard a bunch of words from her Dao Companion, Li Jin’an translated and understood Xie Huaixue’s brief remarks, then coughed and cleared her throat, righteously recounting and expanding upon them:
“For the losses caused in the Solitary Mountain Secret Realm, the Sword Sect and Jijin Peak are bound by duty and will not shirk responsibility. Naturally, we will also show our regard for these disciples who suffered undeserved calamity. The three culprits’ monthly allowances for the next hundred years will be evenly distributed to the remaining twenty-seven disciples. We hope Elder Yin will bear witness, and when they awaken, the compensation will be distributed to them.”
“Huh?!!!”
Tan Yanyi, like a dying person springing up from her bed, stared blankly at their master along with Qi Lingzi and Ling Qiu, all of them issuing incredibly painful cries from the depths of their souls.
Even the most unruly sword cultivators would feel deeply pained upon hearing the words “deducting monthly allowance,” choosing between a duel and going mad as their reaction. But clearly, in front of their dear master, all inappropriate behavior would be suppressed.
Now, not only was Tan Yanyi no longer calm, but even Qi Lingzi and Ling Qiu were unable to stay calm. They were heartbroken to the point of being unable to breathe, wishing they could throw a tantrum and roll on the ground to express their sadness!
Although their monthly allowances for the next hundred years hadn’t yet reached their hands, they already regarded them as an inseparable part of themselves!
This wasn’t taking their lives, but it was like drawing blood and cutting flesh!
Just as the three of them hesitated whether to rush forward and hug their master and madame’s legs to wail, they heard their master continue, “Aside from resource compensation, I think they probably want to personally seek revenge, and that’s the right thing to do. It’s just that there are too many people, and the three of you wouldn’t be enough to go around. However, you can agree on a wager before fighting: if they lose, they’ll give you some resources and wealth; if they win, the three of you should apologize properly and willingly accept your beating.”
“What do you think, Elder Yin?”
Elder Yin didn’t think much of it. None of her disciples were involved, so what did it have to do with her? She was just a frail medical cultivator who didn’t meddle in worldly affairs and didn’t want to be a referee!
And wasn’t this truly Jijin seizing the opportunity to train her disciples through a series of consecutive battles? It both trained her disciples and made them responsible for their actions, while also mitigating the potential bad reputation from the Solitary Mountain Secret Realm trip, maintaining Jijin Peak’s shaky reputation. It was truly killing two birds with one stone!
And she didn’t even have to worry about the reactions of these disciples’ masters. Being able to spar with a Sword Sovereign’s disciples, the masters would agree even faster than their own disciples. Resources might cause indigestion if they get too much, but opportunities to spar with the top of their generation were rare.
And furthermore, could these words truly come from the Jijin Sword Sovereign? With the Sword Sovereign’s understanding, shouldn’t her magnanimous gesture be to not even compensate them, and not even rob them in return?
The art of handling one’s wife was truly profound! To be able to turn a wild and crazy sword fanatic into a polite, gentle, and good person was simply incredible.
Her admiration for Qingxiao Immortal Venerable had reached a point beyond description!
Despite her thoughts, Elder Yin swallowed her pride and agreed to the matter. “Very well, I will be responsible for this along with Xuanyu True Master.”
Sorry, Mian. For the sake of our friendship with their master, let’s fall together!
Qi Lingzi and the other two beside her went completely wild, their eyes almost turning green with excitement, because something lost and found again was truly that wonderful!
The wealth they were about to lose had returned!
They were going to beat the other twenty-seven people to death!
Li Jin’an fiddled around in her storage ring for a bit, then, in front of Qi Lingzi and the other two, listening to their rapid breathing, she handed Elder Yin twenty-seven storage bags.